Brecht’s Influences

Evolvement of Brecht

Buckhner 1813 – 1837 Wedekind 1864 – 1918 Kurtwell 1900 – 1950 Hanns Eisler 1898 – 1962 Karl Marx 1818 – 1883 Brecht 1898 –

1956

Erwin PiscatorTheatre Director1893 - 1966

Brecht

Karl MarxGerman Philosopher1818 – 1883

Japanese TheatreChinese Theatre

Expressionism

Frank WedekindPlaywright 1864 - 1918 Greek Theatre

Theoretical Context of Brecht

Jaroslav HasekCzech Writer 1883 – 1923Author of the Novel The Good Soldier Schweik

Maxim GorkyRussian Writer 1868 – 1936Wrote the story Brecht used for The Mother

William ShakespeareEnglish Writer 1564 – 1616Brecht devised his own version of Coriolanus

Christopher MarloweEnglish Writer 1566 – 1593

Brecht devised his own version of Edward II Sophocles

Ancient Greek DramatistBrecht devised his own version of Antigone

“Knowledge of theoretical influences, conventions and styles related to the development of theatre”

Expressionism

Movement in Literature and Art Originated in Germany Began just before First World War Ended around 1924 Influenced Modernism in England and American Influenced Surrealism in Europe Contrasted Realism and Naturalism Erratic and explosive rather than descriptive Heightened, Distorted and Grotesque Playwrights included Wedekin, Buchner, Kaiser and

Toller

Brecht’s Essay,“On Experimental Theatre”

“The Expressionism of the post-war period showed the World as Will and Idea led to a special kind of solipsism. It was the theatre’s answer to the great crisis of society, just as the doctrines of Mach were philosophy’s. It represented arts revolt against life: here the world existed purely as a vision, strangely distorted, a monster conjured by perturbed souls. Expressionism vastly enriched the theatre’s means of expressionism and brought aesthetic gains that still have to be fully exploited, but it proved quite incapable of shedding light on the world as an object of human activity. The theatre’s educative value collapsed.”

[Willett, 1964. p.132]

Karl Marx1818 - 1883

Influenced German philosophy and social theory

Editor of Reinische Zeitung 1842 – 1843

Developed Marxist philosophy (Dialectical Materialism) with Engels

Chinese Theatre

Absence of the ‘Forth Wall’ Making audience aware of their presence Simplistic costume No make-up Little lighting Absence of special effects

Mei Lan Fang’s techniques

Brecht’s Essay,“Alienation Effects in Chinese Acting”

“Traditional Chinese acting also knows the alienation effect and applies it most subtly. It is well known that the Chinese theatre uses a lot of symbols…Poverty is shown by patching the silken costumes with irregular shapes of different colours, likewise silken, to indicate that they have been mended…The stage itself remains the same, but articles of furniture are carried in during the action.”

[Willett. 1964. p91]

Japanese Theatre

Non – realistic

Masks

Colour and texture

Brecht to Eisler and Dudlow

“And I’ll want a large projection screen…Let it all be elegant, thin and fine, like Japanese banners, flimsy like Japanese Kites and lanterns; let’s be aware of the natural textures of wood and metal…”

[Willett. 1991. p.149]

Frank Wedekind 1864 - 1918

Playwright Considered Brecht’s role model Plays included Spring Awakening and

Pandora’s Box Short segmented scenes Shocking climaxes Derision for bourgeois society Expressionism Social and political aspects of Germany Loaded Melodrama and slapstick style Vitality and uniqueness like Brecht Shocking and courageous in his statements Teaching his audience to think about what they

see

Edwin Piscator 1893 - 1966

Director Agit Prop theatre Followed socialist movements Working Class Delivered social messages Devised New theatre Focused on form and function of the actor Obscure staging Placards and projection Montage Epic theatre Sent into Exile

Brecht on Piscator

“Dramaturg: Piscator was making political theatre before the Ausburger (Brecht)…Though Piscator never wrote a play himself and hardly even wrote a scene, the Ausburger claimed that apart from himself he was the only competent dramatist. He would ask if Piscator hadn’t proved that plays can also be made by inspiring scenes and projects by other writers, supplying them with documents and scenic performances, and making a montage of them. The actual theory of the non-Aristotelian theatre and the development of the Alienation effect should be credited to the Ausburger, but much of it was also supplied by Piscator, and in a wholly original an independent way. Above all, the theatre’s conversation to politics was Piscator’s achievement, without which the Ausburger’s theatre would hardly be conceivable.”

[Willett. 1991. p.68]